Team Lotus, Kovalainen: “What a race for the team!”

Heikki Kovalainen, 18th: “What a race for the whole team! I made a good start, without letting the tires spin and I passed a lot of cars, eventually finding myself in fourteenth. On the radio I even heard one of the engineers laughing and telling someone else how brilliant my start was, and then I thought 'No! Don't say it now, I have to get on with the race!'. The first stints were excellent. The car was going really well on the softs and the pit stops were superb, then the safety car surprised everyone. From then on it was another race to the end, with me and Jarno fighting until the last lap. The car was well balanced even with the hard tyres, so I was able to push hard, despite being held back by Virgin and HRT when the blue flags came out. I always managed to stay ahead of Jarno and that was a good thing, given that he has always been fast on this circuit."

“Also, for the first time in the season they didn't show us the blue flags, which was very satisfying. Every time you have to let someone pass you have to slow down your race, but this means that the car is improving, as is the team. Safety helped us, but you have to be ready to take advantage of any event on the track and today we did that."

Jarno Trulli, 19th: “It was a good day for me. It didn't start very well – for once my start wasn't perfect, but I managed to pass a few people and make my way. After a few laps I felt I had some gearbox problems which slowed me down, but everything was resolved and I managed, thanks to the arrival of the safety car I was able to close the gap between me and Heikki. It's quite a significant achievement for me and the team. We completed every lap of the race, and although this is not relevant for those in front, we are improving and I am really happy about this, both for the guys here and those in the factory. Let's leave Japan happy and ready for Korea."

Alessandra Leoni